Justice Minister Ivan Malenica said on Sunday that an investigation into the fan violence involving Dinamo and AEK supporters was nearing completion and that decision making on the extradition of 10 Bad Blue Boys to Greece, based on the European arrest warrant, was in a "pre-phase" treatment. Pročitaj više

A few days ago the police directorate informed us that the Greek authorities had sent the European arrest warrants. The  warrants (for the arrest of those 10 Dinamo supporters) have been forwarded to the Office of the Attorney-General (DORH). Currently the DORH is dealing with it. The proceedings are being conducted before the (competent) county curts. This is the first phase, that is “a pre-phase”, Malenica told the national broadcaster (HRT) on Sunday evening.

He elaborated that the legislation on judicial cooperation in criminal matters regulates the whole procedure and possible exceptions when the warrant could be turned down.

Acting on European arrest warrants issued by Greece, this weekend the Croatian police arrested 10 members of Bad Blue Boys, Dinamo football club’s supporter association, wanted by the Greek judiciary for involvement in riots ahead of a Dinamo-AEK match in Greece in August, in which a an AEK fan was killed.

According to unofficial reports, the police did not conduct an investigation into the suspects but only acted on the European arrest warrants.

The Justice Ministry on Saturday confirmed that the competent police services had informed it about the Greek authorities’ notification about the European arrest warrants, on which the police have the duty to act.

After 29-year-old AEK supporter Michalis Katsouris was killed in the fan violence ahead of a Champions League qualifier between Dinamo and AEK on 7 August, 105 men, including 98 Dinamo supporters, were arrested in Greece and placed in custody pending completion of the investigation.

Asked by the anchorman whether it made him worried that only one Greek fan had been arrested and that still there had been no clues for the conclusion of who might have been the killer of Katsouris, Malenica answered that “it is odd that there are about a hundred Croatian nationals detained in Greek jails.”

On the other hand, the few Greek fans were arrested, while it was a large-scale clash involving a high number of both Croatian and Greek supporters, he went on to say.

According to the information provided by the Croatian ambassador to Greece, the investigation in the case is nearing completion, and in the coming weeks we will see what can happen next, the minister said.